Underneath the Spotlight
by WritingWolf14
Summary: Set in an Alternate Universe in Modern Japan


Winter's lacerating hurricanes and whining winds had finally arrived at the station of Yamagato, the skies above were an unholy mixture of shale-grey clouds and pasty streaks stifling the world with its icy breath. From inside the crowded confides of one passenger car, a pair of gem-teal colored eyes piercing and bewitching- almond shaped, stared listlessly out the window in silence.

The woman was tall and beautiful, her thick sandy blonde hair pulled back into four distinct ponytails was tousle by nature's fury yet still managed to remain up despite its recent abuse had made her look all the more beautiful. She was dressed in a gravel grey coat unzipped revealing her dark pastel purple V-neck blouse, her tight skinny jeans showing off how long and slender her legs were - a vision of loveliness.

The woman's hourglass frame fell into a gentle sway in motion upon the train's departure and she knew that within the next couple hours she would be home again and she could leave this disaster behind in faded memory. She couldn't remember how many times she had kicked herself in the ass for being so stupid coming here in the first place -it was a waste of her time and money- not to mention she was now broke until her next paycheck from Youtube came in!

 _This sucks..._

A sudden buzz from her right brought her out of her dark musings and her gaze trailed down towards the white swirled hard case of her Galaxy S6 - her only travel item she had brought with her on her trip- rattled against the curved edges of the cup holder she had placed it in alerting her of another text message and she read the digital letters:

 **Kankuro was driving like an old lady through the entire ride here... but we made it to the station finally.**

She could practically visualize the annoyed look on Gaara's face as she read the message and a laughing smirk tickled playfully at the corners of her mouth as she replied:

 **I'm sure it was painless, bro. Anyways, the weather is getting worse so I hope there won't be much delay I really just wanna get home and SLEEP! I've had enough of this place...**

After a minute, her phone beeped again with a reply:

 **That bad, huh? No worries sis, we'll wait for you.**

No sooner had she set her phone down a sudden jerk came out of nowhere and before she knew it, she felt herself free fall out of her own seat! Instinctively, she reached her hands out to catch herself from hitting the floor surprised to find that the impact never came and instead, found that she had fallen onto something _soft_ and this softness had _arms_...

"Whoa..." _And a voice!_ "You ok?"

The woman hadn't realized until now she had squeezed closed her eyes when she opened them again, to find the person who belonged to that voice, was holding her in his gym honed arms; His trailblazer blue eyes looking down at her in mild concern over his friendly smile, and his hair was cropped cut and Viking gold reminding her of a hedgehog.

The woman tensed in his embrace looking up at him, her cyan eyes meeting his sapphire's before she settled herself back onto her booted feet, "...Thank you." She breathed out slightly winded by the fall.

"It was no problem." He replied his derring-do personality along with his brass voice indicated that of an ambitious character.

It was then, that she noticed the strap across his broad Olympian chest and her eyes followed it's trail meeting the large black hard case of a guitar that rested against his back and she opened her mouth to comment on the musical instrument before being cut off by the conductor of this fine transportation vessel as the man chimed in over the speaker in an announcement:

" _Ladies and gentlemen, we will move again soon but due to the severe weather conditions we will be proceeding much slower than normal and we apologize for any inconveniences- we thank you for your patience._ "

The disgruntled complaints and shouts from the other passengers erupted from inside the tiny carriage and the woman too, groaned in frustration as she sat herself roughly in her seat before pulling out her cell informing her two brothers the bad news:

 **Hey guys, I'm sorry... I totally jinxed us! My train isn't-**

A sudden buzz interrupted the woman's mid-text and it was a message from BOTH of her brothers:

 **(** Gaara **) We were just informed of your... _updated_ arrival time and Kankuro and I will be ok I brought some blankets and pillows just the "In case" outcome were to happen and we are going to do our best not to look like two homeless guys sleeping in the lobby while we wait for you, ok? ;)**

 **(** Kankuro **) Temari, you owe us... :P**

A smile, a real genuine _happy_ smile lifted up the corners of her mouth as she texted:

 **Just name it guys. You're the best.**

A few short minutes flew by and the next text message they both sent her was unexpected...

 **(** Kankuro & Gaara **) We miss you're cooking.**

...But not unpleasant.

 **Deal**...

"Hey...?" The woman, Temari, lifted her head in acknowledgement seeing the blonde haired man's curious expression as he pointed to the empty seat connected to hers, "...I was wondering if this seat was taken?"

"No, it's ok." She replied offering for him to sit, "...Be my guest."

"Thanks." He sounded relieved, "I owe you."

"Sure." She shrugged, "It's the least I could do for you saving me from face-planting onto the floor and embarrassing myself twice in one day."

" _Twice_?" He repeated, placing his hard case onto the floor in between them asking, "What was the first time?"

Temari sighed resting back onto the cushioned seat, "...I had this big record deal from this company and they wanted my partner and I to travel for four hours to meet and sign up with them... it was too good to be true..."

"That sounds amazing!" He replied, his velvet joy a welcoming new addition to the sour air that hung stale in the crowded confines of the slow moving carriage. The man had begun to unzip his orange and black hoodie freeing the simple black shirt that was hidden underneath and Temari's eye caught the brilliant shine of a stone hanging from the man's neck as he settled himself in his seat before turning back to her asking, "But something happened I take it?"

Temari looked up, her calm expression scrunched into a frown, "...Yeah." the woman drawled, the disdain she felt previously resurfaced across her comely features and it colored her voice in a swirl of negativity as she continued. "It turned out that the record company was only interested in its deals instead of music and my partner and I had a fallout because of it." Temari's eyes drifted to gaze at the outside, the whirlwind of ice and water a strangely pleasant distraction hardening her voice, "... I argued with her for hours about how that contract would have turned us into sex icons. We would be the girls of fantasy that every man wants; it would make me a sex symbol and not a singer." Temari turned back to look at the man and said simply, "I just want to sing my passions to the world and live off of what makes me happy."

Temari's blood boiled at the memory of her partner and those men conversing about numbers and dollars rather than notes and tones like it was the only thing in the world that mattered-like they didn't even _care_ about anything else. Their venom words dripping from their mouths wasn't enough to sicken her, no- It was the way they had _looked_. Normal. Was the first thing that came to mind but deeper much deeper than that almost hidden completely from view was a speck a tiny speck of something that surfaced to the forefront of their eyes, it was like greed but so much more powerful, it was lust, it was a deep rooted desire that was un-explainable even for Temari to comprehend... it looked dangerous.

...and it was all-too shocking to see it in her partner's mint green eyes.

"I'm real sorry to hear that happened to you." The man replied, his voice sincere- calming and soothing. Temari turned to thank him but stopped as the man flashed his rascal smile at her saying, "But you were the bigger person in the end and you stood up for what you cared about, you know?"

Temari was not expecting such an answer from the man and the shock of his words had passed over her complexion quickly, although inside, her mind still racing and fighting for clarity. _Yes... In the end, it wasn't I who lost a damn_ _thing..._ She had thought, but did not bring life to those words and instead she smirked and playfully teased, "Has anyone ever told you, you have a way with words?"

To Temari's delight, she noticed the man's face flush with a light tint of pink and she smiled broadly when he averted his eyes from hers clearly flustered by her few simple and harmless words, "Well, I don't know about that!"

"No really!" The natural flirt that Temari was could never resist the urge to back down when she got the ball rolling even though she knew it was at the man's own expense. It was always so much fun to see guys like him become embarrassed by a few little compliments but it was still very sweet none-the-less. It showed their more vulnerable and softer side to them that Temari always liked to see. She, however, decided to spare him of her playful torture (Slightly) and asked him, "So, what's a sweet-talker like you heading to or away from?" Temari pointed at the case, "Let me guess, you're a travelling performer hoping to spread your message across the world with your beautiful songs giving joy and encouragement to those who would listen- something like that?"

The man chuckled at her words in amusement before replying, "I hope I don't disappoint you but it's nothing romantic like that." He turned back to her, "Technically I'm at temp worker, it's like working odd jobs like one day I'll be out walking dogs or working at a bar or being a receptionist somewhere." He patted his hard case before adding, "I take my guitar with me to every job I have too."

Temari cocked her head to the side curiously. So he was a musician? "Can you play some songs?"

"Oh yeah!" He replied enthusiastically, beaming, "I've been playing ever since I was a kid."

"Could you play me something?" Temari's asked curiously.

"Well, only because _you_ asked..." It was the man's turn to tease and Temari smiled happily. He unzipped the case pulling out the musical device. The dark wooded surface shined a brilliant glass-like appeal in the lighting that was above their heads and Temari watched as his finger pricked one of the six steel strings and it made a wonderful singing sound that vibrated pleasantly in her eardrums.

"It's beautiful." Temari said visibly impressed at the powerful instrument he held in his hands and she continued to listen to the soft notes he played, the tone becoming more upbeat as he began strumming the strings. Temari became mesmerized as she watched his fingers literally dance across the fingerboard and sound box; a simple notion of both movement and sound turned magical and enchanting all at once and it was brought to life all by his hands.

"Thank you." He replied with a smile as he finished the song. The man looked fondly at the guitar as if remembering a pleasant memory.

"You're really good at playing." Temari cocked her head to the side in curiosity, "I'm surprised though... have you ever thought about turning your music into a career or something?"

The man shook his head at her, "No, see, for me, this is just a hobby; I don't want to make this into anything more than what I have. I just like playing for fun."

Temari nodded, "Makes sense." Temari leaned back into her seat getting comfortable. She yawned and stretched hating how the seats were increasingly becoming more and more uncomfortable by the hour. She stopped mid stretch seeing that the man was looking at her with interest and she blinked allowing her arms to drop as she turned to him. "What's up?"

"You said you can sing...?" He asked her simply yet his serious tone indicated a hidden intention.

"Yeah...?" Temari replied, matching his tone with a color of suspicion in her voice.

The serious face evaporated almost instantaneously by his smile that could light up an entire room and he held his guitar out to her before cheerily answering, "Your turn."

"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow in both confusion and shock visibly taken aback by his comment. Temari leaned forward to peer around the guitar that blocked her view from the man hoping to see a teasing grin followed by a 'Just kidding!' remark, but was afraid to find that the man was indeed serious. "...Why...?"

"You asked me if I could play and I showed you," She tired her best to not show her embarrassment, but she knew she couldn't stop the heat rising to the surface of her cheeks, until, suddenly, he added. "Now I wanna hear you sing!"

Once again, Temari wasn't excepting such an answer from this person. He had successfully -whether meaning to or not- left her speechless _twice_ in one night! Temari couldn't hold back the laughing chuckle even if she wanted to and her expression softened slightly. His words, his...no; _He_ was...comforting to just listen to. To just _be_ with and he simply...

 _...Wanted to hear her sing._

Temari eyed the cramped confines of the carriage casually before she turned back to the man lightly moving the guitar away from their view of each other and she placed her elbow on the arm rest in between them, resting her hand underneath her chin as she leaned in close to his blinking stare, lowering her voice into a whisper, "You won me over, stranger. Not a feat many have pulled off so quickly before." She winked playfully at his surprised expression, "But... We'll have to be quiet not to disrupt any of the other passengers...and I'll need to borrow your guitar if that's alright with you?"

"Sure, that's okay!" He jovially agreed looking as if he was about to bounce off his seat as he gingerly handed her his guitar looking as if suspense really could kill someone, "So you can play too? What are you going to sing?"

"Well..." Temari carefully took the guitar in her hands and began tuning the strings testing the sound to match to her harmonious liking before answering, "I can play a little only enough for one song..."

Temari lightly brushed her fingertips over the strings and they vibrated in a soft musical wave the familiar pitch of the sound perfect for the song she was about to sing as she closed her eyes attempting to relax herself into the rhythm.

The melody flowed softly almost delicately; it pierced through the air with the grace of a spiraling shuriken and Temari felt her senses draw inward listening to the soft string of the notes she pricked as all other worldly sounds seemed to fade away from existence to her even the sights that surrounded her vanished and she wondered mildly if they were there at all.

She began to hum the song as she continued to play; the harmonious marvel seeming to mesmerize the spiky blonde into a musical trance! He looked almost awestruck at her and she felt the slightest warmth from her cheeks rising before drawing herself back into her playing.

"Hideaway..." Just barely above a whisper Temari began her song.

* * *

Temari's Song: Hideaway by Karen-O and the Kids

Naruto's Strumming: Relaxing Acoustic Guitar Videos


End file.
